Green Corruption: Department of Energy “Junk Loans” and Cronyism –– Intro

Concerned Citizen reveals –– via the House Oversight Investigation and years of research –– that over 85% of the 27, including the 23 “Junk grade” DOE loans have "meaningful" political connections to President Obama and the Democratic Party.



While the media was “tripping out” over Energy Secretary Chu giving himself “an A grade on controlling the cost of gasoline at the pump” during his testimony before a House panel last month, they missed the real scandal!

As insulting as that seems (especially since gas prices have significantly increased under Chu’s watch), Gene Koprowski of The Daily Caller unleashed the most outrageous part of the House Oversight’s investigation –– "Obama energy officials funded solar firms despite ‘junk bond’ ratings from S&P and Fitch." Koprowski detailed the Department of Energy's (DOE) lack of caution in backing hundreds of millions of dollars in loans for "tainted solar power projects." Also documented are "other dramatic abuses at the green energy firms," the most egregious being those firms which, received DOE funding, went bankrupt, "but not before paying their executives bonuses."

In fact, the report released last month by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform (led by CA Representative, Darrell Issa) "painted a startling picture of mismanagement at the Department of Energy." The most damaging is that of the 27 loan guarantees under the 1705 program, of which the DOE doled out in excess of $16 billion, “23 of the loans were rated “Junk grade” due to their poor credit quality, while the other four were rated BBB, which is at the lowest end of the 'investment' grade of categories.” According to Issa's Team, the DOE's 1705 loan portfolio overall average was BB-." Now, I'm no financial guru, but I wouldn't want that grade on my report card.

So why did the DOE back so many high-risk investments, particularly at a time when we are drowning in a tsunami of debt?

In a gripping line of questioning, Ohio Representative Jim Jordan confronted this issue head on during that same hearing where he pressed Secretary Chu on nine of the firms that received loans, revealing their political connections. Chu countered that the loans were based on merit. Yet Jordan was perplexed, “so if you weren’t helping your buddies, and you were basing your decisions on the merits of the loan, how do you explain the fact that 23 of 27 recipients of the loan guarantees were rated as junk status investments?” Jordan concluded, “If it wasn’t your political buddies, it had to be incompetence.”

Finally, the probe into the DOE and how they "pick winners and losers" for "green ventures" has gone in the right direction, however, Congressman Jordan overlooked the fact that it’s not just nine –– it’s the majority of the 27 projects recorded by Issa's Team.

Political buddies indeed –– 21 energy firms are behind the 27 projects found in the House Oversight investigation, and 18 of them are politically connected to President Obama (15 alone) and the Democratic Party, that’s over 85%! 13 were bundlers, donors, and supporters for Obama's 2008 campaign, and two are members of the president's Job Council, while three are allied to Senator Harry Reid –– all with ample other Democrat links in the mix.

Nevertheless, before Congress caught on, Peter Schweizer’s New York Times bestseller, Throw Them All Out –– released last November and featured on 60 Minutes, exposing the "permanent political class" and the insidious practice of "Congressional insider trading" perpetrated from both sides of the political isle –– devotes an entire chapter to alternative-energy, "Spreading the Wealth... to Billionaires!" Whereas, others players in this clean-energy scheme are uncovered by Schweizer, this chapter digs into a few of the major DOE programs operating under the stimulus, including the tens of billions of dollars that was dished out through the 1705 Loan Guarantee Program.

That's right –– millionaires and billionaires got their fare share of green funds! Interesting enough, Schweizer's book divulged over half of the energy firms listed in the Houses Oversight's investigation, and what's astounding is that once again, the majority, 80% of the DOE loans, grants and special tax credits, reviewed by Schweizer, “went to companies with Obama-campaign connections or large donors to the Democratic Party," and that was as of September 2011!

As the president doubles down on clean energy –– all the way from his 2012 State of the Union address, to his 2013 budget, and off to "algae pushing" –– many of the “green lottery winners” are bundling and campaigning for Obama again, including Secretary Chu, albeit with Hatch Act restrictions.  And you can bet your bottom dollar that these large donors are banking on President Obama’s 2012 reelection victory, counting on more government subsidies.

Within the pages of the House Oversight report, are disturbing charges –– backed up with corroboration –– that range from poor to disastrous management, to bias and favoritism, as well as wasteful spending, in some cases a series of DOE violations, and how the DOE touted “misleading job creation statistics."

Even so, the DOE has come under fire by other federal watchdog agencies, especially since their loan programs have significantly expanded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which was meant to stimulate the economy and create jobs. But now it has become clear that it's stimulating the pockets and securing jobs for those that have significant ties to the Democratic Party and the White House –– “green cronies.”

Criticism ranges from Secretary Chu winning the 2011 Porker of the Year, awarded by Citizens Against Government Waste, to more serious indictments coming from the Government Accountability Office (GAO). While the GAO has addressed many areas of concern within the DOE (and their newfound clean-energy stimulus funds), in 2010, they declared, "[loan] applicants were treated inconsistently," with favoritism at play. Meanwhile in March of 2011, the Department of Energy's Inspector General, Gregory Friedman (not a political appointee) ­­rebuked the alternative energy loan and grant programs, even testifying about "investigative matters,” covering a disturbing feature –– contracts and grants were “directed to friends and family." Just last month, the GAO slammed the DOE’s loan guarantee program and their inability to gather data "required to conduct timely oversight" as well as disapproval with the DOE’s loan applicant process, revealing that the DOE, in some cases, “omitted and or had poorly documented reviews.”

Additionally, under investigation by the Senate Budget Committee are seven solar companies –– severely scrutinized in this House Oversight inquiry –– that in March 2009 "received fast-tracked approval by the Department of Interior (DOI) to lease federal lands in a no-bid process," a recent story tracked by The Washington Free Beacon. Ironically, these decisions were made with "little scrutiny over environmental damages," and according to the Los Angeles Times, it has caused strife amongst environmentalists and some "eco-drama," including news that “Gang Green,” the nation’s big environmental players, "were silent on the projects or actively lobbied for them." This same "solar seven" also snagged billions of DOE funds under the 1705 loan program, as well as renewable energy grants from the Treasury Department.

Hmmm, favoritism, poor documentation, questionable transparency, special treatment, and so much more to ponder...still, we'll move on and examine the energy department's "junk loans" that were funded with tens of billions of taxpayer money.

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform Report, March 20, 2012
The DOE Portfolio of Loan Commitments –– Junk Bond Portfolio

President Obama and Other Democrat Connections:

1. General Electric with two projects:

• 1366 Technologies Inc, Rating B by Fitch, Sept 2011 –– $150 million
• Caithness Shepherds Flat, LLC –– Rating BBB- by Fitch; Oct 2010 for $1.04 billion (or $1.3 billion)

2. Abound Solar (financial issues) –– Rating B by Fitch; Dec 2010 for $400 million

3. Beacon Power Corporation (went bust) –– Rating CCC+ by S&P; Aug 2010 for $43 million

4. BrightSource Energy, Inc with three projects (environmental issues)

• Ivanpah I and Ivanpah III  –– Rating BB+ by Fitch
• Ivanpah II –– Rating BB by Fitch; Apr 2011, total $1.6 billion

5. Cogentrix of Alamosa, LLC –– Rating B by Fitch; Sept 2011 for $90.6 million

6. Exelon (Antelope Valley Solar Ranch) –– Rating BBB- by Fitch; Sept 2011 for $646 million

7. Granite Reliable Power, LLC  –– Rating BB by Fitch; Sept 2011, over $135 million

8. Kahuku Wind Power LLC –– Rating BB+ by Fitch; July 2010 for $117 million

9. NRG with two projects

• NRG Solar, LLC (Agua Caliente) –– Rating BB+ by Fitch; Aug 2011 for $967 million

• NRG Energy (California Valley Solar Ranch) –– Rating BB+ by Fitch; Sept 2011 over $1.2 billion

10. NextEra Energy Resources, LLC with two projects

• Genesis Solar (environmental issues) –– Rating BBB+ by S&P; Aug 2010 for $681.6 million (or $852 million)
• Desert Sunlight –– Rating BBB- by Fitch; Sept 2011 for $1.2 billion (or $1.46 billion)

11. Record Hill Wind, LLC –– Rating BB+ by S&P; Aug 2011 for  $102 million

12. SolarReserve Inc, LLC (Crescent Dunes) –– Rating BB by Fitch; Sept 2011 for $737 million

13. SoloPower Inc. –– Rating CCC+ by S&P 7/11/2011; Aug 2011 for $197 million

14. Solyndra, Inc (went bust) –– Rating BB- by Fitch; Sept 2009 for $535 million

15. U.S. Geothermal, Inc (Malheur County, Oregon) –– Rating BB by S&P; Feb 2011 for $97 million

Senator Harry Reid and Other Democratic Connections:
16. Nevada Geothermal Power Company Inc (documented as a bailout) –– Rating BB+ by Fitch; Sept 2010 for $78.8 million

17. Ormat Nevada, Inc –– Rating BB by S&P; Sept 2011 for $280 million

Add SolarReserve Inc.

Democrat Only:
18. Abengoa with three projects:

• Abengoa Bioenergy Biomass of Kansas LLC –– Rating CCC by Fitch; Aug 2010 for $132.4 million
• Abengoa Solar, Inc (Solana) –– Rating BB+ by Fitch; Dec 2010 for $1.45 billion 
• Abengoa Solar, Inc (Mojave Solar) –– Rating BB by Fitch; Sept 2011 for $1.2 billion

Unknown Political Connections:
19. LS Power (Transmission Line project) –– Rating BB+ by Fitch; Feb 2011 for $343 million

20. Mesquite Solar I, LLC (Sempra Mesquite) –– Rating BB+ by Fitch; Sept 2011 for $337 milllion

21. Prologis (Project Amp) –– Rating BB by Fitch; Sept 2011, over $1.1 billion (or $1.4 billion)

 KEY POINTS:

• 23 of these loans were junk grade, while the other four –– GE's Caithness, Exelon’s Solar Valley Ranch, and both of NextEra's projects were considered at the lowest end of the investment grade categories.
• The "Special Solar Seven” are Abengoa Solar, First Solar, Nevada Geothermal Power, Ormat Nevada, SolarReserve, BrightSource Energy, and NextEra Energy Resources (Genesis Solar project). While the latter two are having environmental issues –– killing turtles and foxes, all seven carry Obama and Democratic political ties, three alone to Senator Harry Reid. 
• First Solar (another politically connected solar company) –– not directly in this junk bond inventory, but linked to three of the projects listed –– is under extreme heat in this report ("The First Solar Scheme"). Further, since the finalization of the three DOE loan guarantees at a price tag of over $3 billion, First Solar has "experienced serious financial problems," fired their CEO, is suffering from declining stock value, and um as of late –– you guessed it, "is laying off 2,000 workers and closing factories." 
• Two of the DOE junk loans were considered bailouts, a clear violation of DOE contract regulations –– Nevada Geothermal, found in this House report, and BrightSource Energy, as expanded upon in Schweizer's book.
• There are three on this junk bond portfolio that are either having financial issues or have gone bankrupt. This is an ever-growing trend, of which I have tracked over 26 government-backed firms that can be placed in the "alternative-energy failure category." Not to mention the $5 billion weatherization "waste, fraud and abuse," the $500 million green jobs program boondoggle, millions in federal grants to train workers for green jobs that didn't exist, and so on.
• As stated, behind these 27 green projects are 21 energy companies, however, three are unknown to me (at least for now) –– LS Power, Mesquite Solar (Sempra Energy), and Prologis, yet the latter two have other interesting political connections, and Prologis is highly criticized in this House report. But I can confirm that 18 of them (over 85%) are politically connected to President Obama and the Democrat Party –– in the realm of campaign donations, support and more.

Above is the list, but as we move forward, I will continue to probe and reveal this tangled and damaging web of DOE crony capitalism, starting with Secretary Chu's $16 billion junk bond portfolio –– each has its own story.

After spending weeks analyzing Issa's DOE report, cross-referencing it with research that I have gathered since 2009 as well as Schweizer’s findings (plus recent collaboration efforts with Schweizer himself!), it gives credence to Issa's initial assertion that the $825 billion stimulus package was “walking around money.” More so, it confirms a disturbing theory that I had presented in 2010 –– Obama’s Political Payback: Green Corruption, calling for a special prosecutor  –– Part One, Part Two, and The Plot Thickens.

Still, as I stressed to TheDC –– and anyone else that would listen, “Issa has one-third of the story” (on the record anyway), and it has become extremely clear to me that this scandal is much deeper and more explosive than I had anticipated.

Later we'll go back to the Department of Energy, exposing more "clean-energy dirt." Although in 2010, I was one of a few ringing the "conflict of interest flag" surrounding Obama's Green Team –– left-wing radical czars included. Even as it remains to be seen Secretary Chu's actual participation in this green-energy scheme, it's apparent that Chu is cut from the same "left-wing cloth" as the rest of the energy and environmental leaders the president chose back in 2009. Radicals aside, the red flag was waved in reference to the DOE staff and the venture capitalists that had joined the DOE early in the Obama administration. Now it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize that those who occupy, in many cases occupied, key DOE positions were capable (and willing) of exerting influence as to where the green-government subsidies would be funneled.

In the case of the $525 million Solyndra federal loan –– labeled as a junk investment that went bust –– we have the proof. Equally, there are "chains of influence" that have the power to push a deal through. Apparently this may have occurred with the $529 million Fisker Automotive loan (via the DOE's Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing program –– ATVM) that somewhat incriminates both Secretary Chu and Vice-President Joe Biden, as hinted in 2009 by The Wall Street Journal. And it doesn't hurt to have the former Vice President Al Gore and his billion-dollar buddy, John Doerr –– both major 2008 Obama supporters –– in the forefront.

It's no wonder that the White House stalled in turning over internal emails to the House Oversight Committee in regards to Solyndra, and refused to release details on the Fisker Auto bailout to Judicial Watch –– so much for transparency, a platform candidate Obama ran on!

These are just two examples, plus additional cases can be found in the House Oversight report. Yet, we're in the dark as to the probable backroom deals that were cut in hidden emails, at White House visits and "coffee shop meetings" –– or if perhaps, early on, this "energy agenda" was set up as a "pay to play" scam –– albeit under the guise of "saving the planet."

We'll eventually steer back the ATVM loans, another DOE program where cronyism reigned. Yes, Gore and Doerr too. Both partners in the venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers that were a main focus of my 2010 research –– with snippets of Goldman Sachs and their deep ties to the Democratic Party, plus a few early renewable energy investments that snagged DOE funds. Back then, I calculated that over fifty percent of Kleiner Perkins' green investments were winners of green government subsidies –– yet they have since tripled their cleantech portfolio, thus more taxpayer cash. We'll also return to Goldman Sachs, who tapped the number two spot on Obama's 2008 top contributors list, disclosing more large 2008 "Obama financiers" and discovering Goldman Sachs' DNA all over "green."

Even more corrupt is that DOE officials and so-called advisors (along with friends, family, and cohorts) have received sizable shares of green funds, or are associated to companies that soared as a result of the stimulus –– at least ten confirmed thus far, with others on my radar.

Business as usual? Perhaps. But when you connect the "green dots," eventually a picture emerges. Throw Them All Out exposes "at least ten members of Obama's 2008 finance committee and more than a dozen Obama bundlers." With the DOE in mind, let's throw in those individuals and groups that helped craft the stimulus package, more specifically the clean-energy section and its over $80 billion earmark, then add in at least five members of the president's Jobs Council (a panel stacked with Democratic donors) ––  all making bank off of taxpayer money, and you've got yourself a "racket."

Moreover, it is one thing when just a handful of green firms enter the "favored category," but percentages present a much dire picture, as presented in Schweizer's book and now Issa's investigation. Worse, is when well-connected investors –– 2008 Obama bundlers, large donors and supporters –– secure government loans, grants and special tax breaks for sizeable portions of their entire alternative-energy portfolios. Those companies that receive multiple green government subsidies are suspect as well. So eventually, we'll venture off to visit Wall Street, Silicon Valley, Big Energy, Big Oil, and others –– giving homage to our BIG winners in this taxpayer-funded "rigged green" lottery!

On the other hand, I have to chuckle at Schweizer's statement, "it would take an entire book [and a team of investigators] to analyze every single grant and government-backed loan doled out since Barack Obama became president."  Most likely an encyclopedia, nevertheless, I will attempt to unravel this massive scandal in an on-going Green Corruption series.

However, the fact alone that the DOE spent in excess of $16 billion of taxpayer money on a clean-energy portfolio where the vast majority were junk grade investments with over 85% carrying meaningful political connections, is more evidence that cronyism is the driving force behind the DOE as well as other government agencies that are dishing out alternative-energy contracts. While I am perfectly aware that "political paybacks," infiltrated our government long ago, and that cronyism and corruption runs deep in both political parties, I believe that there is something more sinister happening on the "green-energy front" –– this time it's linked to the left and their political buddies, chiefly to President Obama.

Following the "green money" and tracking the energy polices coming down the radical pipeline –– under the Obama administration –– will at least expose that we are witnessing the largest, most expensive and deceptive case of crony capitalism in American history.

Our first look into the 21 firms listed from the DOE's junk loan portfolio will be General Electric (GE) –– another generous Obama donor, giving his 2008 campaign $529,855 –– whose CEO Jeffrey Immelt, sits as Chair of President Obama’s Job Council. GE is major player on the clean-energy scene as well as in this green-energy scheme. Other than the two projects documented in the  House Oversight investigation, GE was the recipient of government subsidies for a multitude of green projects, programs, and through some of their "green alliances." From what I have gathered thus far, GE's "green tab" is over 1.5 billion in taxpayer cash, and counting. In the meantime, I will leave you will this “not-so shovel ready” commercial break.

First published on Blogcritics Magazine -- Author: Christine Lakatos — Published: Apr 26, 2012 at 7:23 am

Green Corruption: The Plot Thickens

THE PLOT THICKENS –– MORE GORE AND DOERR CONNECTIONS

First published on Blogcritics Magazine Author: Christine Lakatos — Published: Aug 08, 2010 at 9:20 pm

Al Gore and John Doerr's –– the "climate duo," whose combined carbon footprint is larger than my entire city –– friendship dates as far back as the 90's. Since being converted to “global warming” by Gore in 2005 with “a convenient hype," Doerr has become a “green evangelist,” with his climate crisis message, “I’m really scared, I don’t think we’re gonna make it.” At the same time Doerr continually markets energy as “the mother of all markets” –– $6 trillion a year worldwide.

As written by Troxler and Brown in their book Killing Wealth, Freeing Wealth, around 2005 Kleiner Perkins had initially invested $100 million into “green” and announced publicly that they would “advocate for policies that reduce the climate crisis and increase energy innovation.” Yet, “within hours of Obama’s victory –– a candidate that both Gore and Doerr had strenuously campaigned for, including financial donations –– Kleiner Perkins had upped their investment in forty-eight clean-energy-technology companies to the tune of nearly $2 billion.”

In 2004 Gore started a company with CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management David Blood –– Generation Investment Management (GIM), a “green” and "global warming" investment company valued at $2.5 billion. GIM partners include two other Goldman bigwigs, Mark Ferguson and Peter Harris, with speculation that Treasury Secretary and former Goldman Sachs CEO Hank Paulson is involved somehow, yet I am unable to confirm.

RICHARD SANDOR: THE GODFATHER OF CARBON TRADING

In 2007, GIM and Kleiner Perkins created "an International Alliance to accelerate global climate solutions," and about that time, Gore became a partner of Kleiner Perkins and Doerr joined the GIM advisory board. More compelling, both GIM and Goldman Sachs are two of the largest investors in the cap-and-trade carbon-trading platform that Obama helped get funded back in 2000 and 2001 via the Joyce Foundation. That company is the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), which was launched in 2003 and whose founder and CEO Richard Sandor –– the “Godfather of Carbon Trading," another major player in the Climate Scam –– estimates that the worldwide carbon market could be "a $10 trillion a year market.”


If you've followed any of Glenn Beck’s Crime Inc. series, conservative blogs, or caught Deborah Corey Barnes' 2007 article at HumanEvents.com –– The Money and Connections Behind Al Gore's Carbon Crusade –– you’re probably aware that during two of the eight years (1994 to 2002) that Obama sat on the board of The Joyce Foundation (the Chicago-based organization, who is a major donor to radical environmentalist and conservation groups, including Joel Rogers' Emerald Cities Collaborative and progressive movements like Center for American Progress), then Senator Obama voted in favor of the nearly $1.1 million in two separate grants that were instrumental in developing and launching CCX. Also, prior to joining the Obama administration as Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President, Valerie Jarrett served as a director of The Joyce Foundation. During the time funding was approved, Paula DiPerna, the Joyce Foundation's president became the Executive Vice President for CCX.

Furthermore, during Senator Obama's April 2006 “Energy Independence” speech, he even gave CCX a "shout out" –– "Right here in Chicago, the Chicago Climate Exchange is already running a legally binding greenhouse gas trading system," announces the Organizing for America website, the successor organization to Obama for America. Interestingly, in October 2006, then Chicago Governor Rod Blagojevich, in his Executive Order on Climate Change and Greenhouse Gas Reduction, it states, "It is the intent for the State of Illinois to join Chicago Climate Exchange," and sure enough the State of Illinois is a CCX member.

Most are aware that GIM purchased a ten percent stake in CCX and became the company's fifth largest co-owner and in 2006 Goldman Sachs also purchased a ten percent share of CCX for $23 million –– marking Goldman and GIM as the largest investors in the Chicago Climate Exchange. However, what is not known is that Sandor is well connected and even had a hand in shaping the Waxman cap-and-trade bill –– as reported by Bloomberg News in June of 2009, which also confirmed his ties to Obama. Sandor stated, “Obama was on the foundation [Joyce Foundation] that gave us the grant.” “We know him well.”

In addition, in a May 14, 2009 press release by ResourceInvestor.com, Sandor was named as part of a new panel called the Energy & Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC), of which Bart Chilton Commissioner of the Commodity Future Trading Commission (CFTC), is also the chair. “This is a distinguished group that will help the agency as we prepare for what could be the most important commodity market ever,” Chilton said. “I know it is sort of rare for government to do a lot of work before a new law is even passed, but carbon markets are too important for us not to get right,” Chilton added.

It must be a Chicago thing, but the Climate Scam is much bigger.

MULIT-BILLIONAIRES MAURICE STRONG AND GEORGE SOROS

CCX board includes a very controversial figure –– Maurice Strong, who has described himself as “a socialist in ideology, a capitalist in methodology” and Strong is another "global warming guru," playing "a unique and critical role in globalizing the environmental movement." According to Canada Free Press, Strong was part of a scandal with Al Gore back in the 90’s and has been known to be working on "anti-American schemes with George Soros as far back as 2006." Canada Free Press pronounces, “All that President Barack Obama is doing to transform America and the Free World over to One World Government begins and ends with one Maurice Strong. Soros is merely the financier.”

Speaking of George Soros, Troxler and Brown open Killing Wealth, Freeing Wealth, heralding Soros “the first of the Killionaires, but not the last” –– and highlight his trail of destruction. Killionaires, the authors state, “Are focused on killing off the wealth of millions to increase their own personal wealth.” And in Soros own words, “I am basically there to make money. I cannot and do not look at the social consequences of what I do.”

According to DiscoverTheNetworks.org, Soros through his foundation Open Society Institute (OSI), has dispensed billions of dollars to a multitude of left-wing organizations, including bankrolling, as mentioned earlier, the Center for American Progress as well as Moveon.org –– the web-based political network that uses its fundraising clout to push the Democratic Party to the left. Apparently, Soros "is one of the most powerful men on earth" and "has long, deep and shady ties to the Democratic Party," more specifically, Hillary Clinton, yet Soros jumped into the political ring with Barack Obama as early as 2004.

But we’ll “move on” because more relevant to the Climate Scam is an organization that Soros happens to be one of the largest donors –– the Tides Center/Foundation, "with a 30-year history in progressive social change work." The Tides Center is a large and frequent recipient of Joyce Foundation grants, who, as noted earlier, funds a lot of "green," lists the Apollo Alliance in their "Project Directory" and recently gave a $175,000 grant to the Tides Center for the “work” of the Apollo Alliance. A tangled financial web is woven in the fabric of the green movement and there's more...

THE NOTORIOUS “BANKSTERS” GOLDMAN SACHS OPERATING WITHIN THIS CLIMATE SCAM

Goldman Sachs is like a parasite, inhabiting, surviving and thriving at the expense of its host –– our political structure, infecting our capitalistic system turning it into a distasteful, dysfunctional, and destructive machine. Goldmanites are also “Banksters” operating within this Climate Scam. In fact, Matt Taibbi in his July 2009 Rolling Stone Magazine article –– The Great American Bubble Machine –– warns that Goldman Sachs is "helping create the next bubble, 'global warming.'” Other economic analysts label it “alternative energy,” yet most predict, and as presented in Troxler and Brown's book, Killing Wealth, Freeing Wealth –– it will be the biggest financial bubble in U.S. history.

Additionally, Taibbi's Rolling Stone Magazine piece and video, exposes Goldman Sachs' "long-standing and very deep ties to the Democratic Party," and their "long history of putting their former employees in Democratic administrations." Sure enough, Goldman Sachs was one of Obama’s leading campaign donors in the amount of $994,795, and they currently occupy high-level important positions in the Obama White House.

Taibbi also reveals that Goldman Sachs “ramped up its push for cap-and-trade" back in 2008 "when their firm spent $3.5 million to lobby for climate issues, pointing out that one of the lobbyists at that time was Mark Patterson, who now serves as Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner’s chief of staff." Goldmanites also made early “green investments," including wind power, renewable diesel, and partnered with BP Solar” –– BP another major contributor to the Obama campaign, but right now they are in "deep water" with the White House. Goldman Sachs "has invested over $2 billion in alternative energy projects in the US, Europe and Asia" –– a "green portfolio" along with Kleiner Perkins, that should be thoroughly investigated, but we'll take a brief glance.

GOLDMAN SACHS CASHING IN ON THE OBAMA GREEN STIMULUS TOO

As the Climate Scam turns, one of the early investments reported by Taibbi is Horizon Wind Energy –– still on the Goldman Sachs Environmental Markets portfolio, but owned by Portuguese EDP Renewables –– won a $229.8 million grant from the Obama Green Stimulus package, as reported by GreenTechnology.Daily.com in December 2009, pointing out that it was one of the "top grant recipients." The article also notes, "European companies have scooped up the majority of U.S. stimulus money set aside for wind power projects."

Nordic Windpower, funded by Goldman Sachs and Khosla Ventures (and others) –– Vinod Khosla, an affiliated partner of Kleiner Perkins –– in July 2009 announced that it had "received a conditional commitment for a $16 million loan guarantee offer from the US Department of Energy (DOE), supported through the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act."

U.S. Geothermal Inc. –– an Idaho-based geothermal energy developer with three main projects in the works (San Emidio in Nevada, Raft River in Idaho, and Neal Hot Springs in Oregon) with plans for more –– are a Goldman Sachs investment and they are a 5.98% shareholder in the company.

Back in October 2009, the San Emidio Project, a 3.6 megawatts power plant in Nevada was awarded $3.77 million in federal stimulus money. Also, in February 2010 it was declared that "work has begun" on USG's Raft River Project –– a $10 million Enhanced Geothermal System grant program funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. Lastly, June 2010, USG announced that it “was offered a conditional commitment for a $102.2-million loan guarantee from the U.S. Department of Energy," slated to build a 22-megawatt power plant in the eastern Oregon desert –– the Neal Hot Springs Project. The Associated Press reported that "once it [the Neal Hot Springs Project] is done (around 2012), the company is counting on a separate, $34 million federal tax rebate" –– money that's part of the 2009 federal stimulus act meant to help spur investment in renewable energy, which will help pay down the federal loan as well as pay off some private investors."

IN SUMMARY

Obviously, these uber-rich individuals along with crooked politicians are running the "green show." With their "planet saving venture," they have hijacked our environment for profit, using deception and corruption on many fronts, making this a scam. They are fueled by greed and power as they engineer the largest financial bubble in U.S. history, while American taxpayers foot the bill, ultimately to suffer the dire consequences, unless of course, Captain Planet arrives. On the other hand, the left-wing radical agenda that is attached to the green movement is complex and even much more difficult to track then the billions of taxpayer dollars going to "favored" green companies, yet it is just as troubling and I will attempt to make sense out of it next.

Obama's Political Payback: Green Corruption, Part One / Published July 30, 2010 

Obama’s Political Payback: Green Corruption, Part Two / Published August 8, 2010

Obama’s Political Payback: Green Corruption, Part Two

Climate Scam players are powerfully positioned in the middle of cap-and-trade –– the real pot of gold at the end of the “climate rainbow.”

Article first published as Obama's Political Payback: Green Corruption, Part Two on Blogcritics Magazine. Author: Christine Lakatos — Published: Aug 08, 2010 at 9:14 pm

CAP-AND-TRADE: THE REAL POT OF GOLD AT THE END OF THE CLIMATE RAINBOW

Let me be clear, this is not a debate on whether or not the globe is warming or is going to blow up if we keep breathing. And to be clearer, protecting our environment, energy independence, and doing more to “green” our planet are worthy and necessary endeavors, which most of us on the Right wholeheartedly support. However, at heart of the U.S. climate legislation –– Obama Climate –– is Cap-and-Trade, which passed the House June 26, 2009 (H.R. 2454). In essence the government sets limits on the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) a company can emit. The limits are called a “cap.” If a company has to exceed the limit, it is allowed to buy “credits” from companies that pollute less. This transfer is the “trade" –– pollution trading, wow, another human invention! Companies selling their credits under this elaborate accounting system can expect to prosper, including many involved in this Climate Scam.

Considering last summer and into the winter of 2009 the Obama administration was bogged down with their massive takeover of our health care system –– deceiving Americans as to the content and the cost. And as they continue scrambling to fix a drowning economy and high unemployment raging across the nation, the Democratic leadership have been "unable to sell cap-and-trade as a job creator," knowing that Americans "see it as a job killer and a costly energy tax." So in December 2009 the Obama administration decided to go through the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to move their climate agenda via the Clean Air Act, ruling that “greenhouse gases threaten public health and the environment" and six key greenhouse gases were listed, including carbon dioxide (C02), opening the "regulation door" to carbon emissions from automobiles, power plants, and other sources.

In May 2010, the Senate climate bill was unveiled by Senators John Kerry and Joe Lieberman –– the American Power Act –– and just a couple of weeks ago Senator Harry Reid's "energy and oil spill response legislation" has been floating around, which according to the author of the bestseller Climate Gate, Brian Sussman, "[it] contains a clot of overpowering government spending and social engineering." Furthermore, recent reports are claiming that "cap-and-trade is dead" (kind of like the public option in ObamaCare), while rumors have surfaced that the Democratic leadership plan on using more of their Chicago-thug-style political tactics as they did to make ObamaCare law of the land –– this time a more cowardly method, “a lame-duck session.”

With so much at stake for many in this Climate Scam, even if the planet blows up, they will get their cap-and-trade, or a version of it –– a legislation that they helped create, shape, facilitate, lobby, testify, and will continue to push for because at the end of the day, they will ultimately benefit from it –– big time! And if a Senate bill passes and is reconciled with the tougher cap-and-trade House version, most economic analysis confirm that it will hurt the economy, raise taxes, and kill jobs. Even candidate Obama in 2008 stated, "Under my plan of a cap-and-trade system, electricity rates would necessarily skyrocket."

TWO MAJOR PLAYERS IN THIS CLIMATE SCAM: AL GORE AND JOHN DOERR

As outlined in Green Corruption, Part One, the Obama administration has already approved numerous "green" government contracts to the heavyweight Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), of which we already know that Al Gore and John Doerr are both partners. Billions of taxpayer dollars from the Obama Green Stimulus and other government loans and grants are funding KPCB's "green" projects and ultimately their pockets.

Obviously, government favoritism is at play here and it goes further than KPCB, leaving out a host of companies that offer green energy technologies who are ready to make a positive impact on our environment. It's a disease within our political structure –– the all too familiar and ugly evolution of "crony capitalism," spewing out of both political parties. However, most of the players in this scam are connected to the party in power –– the Democratic leadership –– so it will move ahead as planned, unchecked.

Ironically, in April 2009 when Gore testified in a hearing before the House Energy and Commerce Committee, he was confronted by Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) about his financial interests in, at that time, to the pending cap-and-trade legislation. What’s funny about this interchange is that Blackburn, citing an October article by the New York Times Magazine about Kleiner Perkins, asked Gore, "Are you aware of that company?" Gore, laughingly said, “Well, yes, I’m a partner in Kleiner Perkins.” Blackburn then noted that “they [Kleiner Perkins] had invested about a billion dollars in forty companies that are going to benefit from cap-and-trade legislation,” and she asked, “Is the legislation that we are discussing here today; is that something that you are going to personally benefit from?” Blackburn also asked, "Are you willing to divest yourself from any profit?"

Gore sidestepped the questions and took a somewhat defensive posture, claming that "every penny" that he has made from "green" –– his movie, book and investments in renewable energy –– goes to his non-profit organization, "the Alliance for Climate Protection to spread awareness."

Spread awareness. Hmm, OK we'll move ahead because more significant is the fact that Congresswoman Blackburn was onto something big!

OBAMA'S GREEN TEAM

Early in his presidency, Obama put together his Green Team and it comprised of a well-respected scientist as well as an array of global- warming activists, progressives, and left-wing radicals like Van Jones, who is part of the Apollo Alliance –– the left-wing group that helped draft the "green" in the 2009 stimulus package (ARRA).

At this point we'll take a peak at Gore's "awareness" organization. Coincidently, the Assistant to the President for Energy and Climate Change is Carol Browner, who prior to her position in the Obama administration was a board member of the Alliance for Climate Protection. In fact, Browner and Gore go as far back as the late 80’s and early 90’s when she worked as legislative director for then Senator Gore. Browner also spent time on the board of the Center for American Progress (CAP) –– the Soros-funded liberal organization –– and according to Bloomberg.com, "a squadron of CAP experts" worked with president Obama's transition team. Looking deeper into CAP you'll discover it's an organization very popular with the Apollo group as well as being the middle of the green movement. Additionally, despite Browners' controversial ties to Socialistic International –– a worldwide organization who “seeks to establish democratic socialism" and other radical ideas like "global governance," she was still "chosen" as Obama's Climate Czar.

Also, Cathy Zoi served as the CEO of the Alliance for Climate Protection until she was appointed as the Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) –– positioning her to “manage the U.S. Department of Energy's $2.3 billion applied science, research, development, and deployment portfolio.” Moreover, Ms. Zoi “oversees EERE's $16.8 billion in funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.”

Apparently, "a number of former Venture Capitalists (VC) jumped ship last summer and are now executing President Obama’s green power policy," including Jonathan Silver, who in November 2009 Energy Secretary Stephen Chu announced him as a new team member of the Department of Energy (DOE). Silver is now the Executive Director of the Department's loan program office and oversees the U.S. Department of Energy's Loan Guarantee Program that was "kicked into high gear" with the Obama administration, as well as the $25-billion Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (ATVM) loan program, both discussed in Green Corruption Part One.

Evidently, the VC guys as well as the folks from the Alliance for Climate Protection and the Apollo Alliance have the ear of the president, influence over legislation, and other areas on the "green front," and despite the obvious conflict of interest, many are now in charge of deciding who gets billions of "green" taxpayer dollars.

OBAMA'S ECONOMIC ADVISORY BOARD

While it is clear that Al Gore is a heavy weight within political circles, don't underestimate John Doerr's, which dates back to the Bush administration when "Doerr and his team were responsible for getting the 'end-oil-addiction' wording inserted into President Bush's 2006 state-of-the-union address." Currently, Doerr's "hope" is on "the anointed one" and his persuasion was reflected in the stimulus package via his "meetings with Obama's transition team and leaders in Congress" as well as his list of “five recommendations” that included a cap-and-trade system, smart grid, solar, and more federal money to be allocated toward renewable energy –– all of which would benefit his portfolio dramatically. And so it has!

Also worth repeating is that a week prior to enactment of the stimulus package, Obama announced his Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB), "to provide him and his staff with independent advice," of which we know that Doerr is one of the "chosen." However, another "chosen" PERAB board member is Anna Burger, a top-ranking officer at SEIU, whose profile brags that she "led SEIU's grassroots election work, which helped elect President Barack Obama." Ms. Burger is also connected to the Apollo Alliance and is Chair of Change to Win, a "union-united" organization that endorsed Senator Obama as "the American Dream Candidate."

Edward John Craig in his May 2009 article on National Review Online, Thick as Thieves, commented on the so-called advisory board, “Of the 16 [PERAB] members only one (Martin Feldstein) opposes cap-and-trade. At least six expect direct financial benefits from cap-and-trade and the remaining members are either Obama supporters or union representatives.” Sure enough, June 17, 2009 the PERAB voted 15-1 in favor of submitting a memo to Obama that, of course, consisted of "endorsing" cap-and-trade.

JOEL ROGERS: "THE WIZARD" OF THE GREEN MOVEMENT

Furthermore, the typical cap-and-trade proposal seeks to reduce CO2 emissions by 17% by 2020 and over 80% (below 1990 levels) by 2050 compared to 2005 levels. Worth noting is that The Center for Data Analysis at The Heritage Foundation "analyzed a proposal to cut CO2 emissions by 70 percent" and concluded that "such a cut would have little impact on global temperatures."

Since The Heritage Foundation leans to the Right, you'll want to meet Joel Rogers from the far, far Left, who was the co-founder of the 1992 Marxist New Party –– a political party, whose "members hailed from the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA, still alive today) and the militant organization ACORN." Interestingly, all three of the aforementioned organizations "endorsed" Obama at one time or another, but I digress. Rogers is also connected to other left-wing groups and is known as an "anti-capitalist" and "The Wizard" of green movement. In fact, Rogers started a new "green" organization in 2008 –– Emerald Cities Collaborative (ECC), whose mission statement is “united around the goal of 'greening' our metropolitan areas in high-road ways that advance equal opportunity, shared wealth, and democracy within them.” Recently, Rogers was "praised" by the "radical revolutionary" and "social justice guru" –– the 1990 Self-proclaimed Communist Van Jones –– for his “progressive accomplishments," which includes "a new energy paradigm." Rogers and Jones are key players in this Climate Scam and both are part of the Apollo Alliance, of which two key board members are also on the board of Rogers' ECC. Rogers is one of the four co-founders and current board member, while Jones served on the Apollo board until he was "chosen" to be Obama's Green Jobs Czar, which was short lived. In fact since most of these "green" people are all interconnected through various left-wing political and environmental organizations, you wonder if they ever sleep. Later, more of these associations will be confronted –– Jones and the Apollo Alliance included –– when I attempt to connect the "radical climate dots."

For those that don't give a crap about the hard-core-left wing radicals, who have infiltrated the green movement, listen to what Rogers had to say during The New Green Deal – Take Back America 2008 Conference, in a very revealing speech that should be watched in its entirety, however, highlighted below is Rogers' statement after he downplayed the "money aspect of carbon [trading]..."

You can do everything you want to in the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gases and it won't make much of a dent frankly in world wide climate change...I hope you all realize that you could eliminate every power plant in America today and you can stop every car in America today. Take out the entire power generation sector. Take out all of the transportation sector. And you still would not be anywhere near below 80% below 1990 levels. You would be closer to around 60% it would be around 68% percent and that is with bringing the economy to a complete halt. Basically.

Again, debating whether or not CO2 is a toxin causing global warming is not the point of this article –– it's the deception, what's really going on behind the "climate scenes." Stay tuned because the plot thickens –– the notorious “Banksters” Goldman Sachs, the “Godfather of Carbon Trading” Richard Sandor, and others are operating within this Climate Scam.

Obama's Political Payback, Part One posted here @ the Green Corruption Blog and at Concerned Citizen: The Right Perspective as well as Blogcritics Magazine...

Obama's Political Payback: Green Corruption, Part One

Billions of stimulus money going to Al Gore and John Doerr “green” companies –– multiple federal investigations are underway.

Article first published as Obama's Political Payback: Green Corruption–Part One on Blogcritics Magazine.
Author: Christine Lakatos — Published: Jul 30, 2010 at 1:01 pm

Alarmingly, our environment has been hijacked by uber-rich individuals, crooked politicians, and an assortment of left wing extremists who are fueled by greed and power attached to a radical agenda to bring about "global governance," “redistribute the wealth,” and put the progressive movement –– big government, social justice and the death of capitalism –– on the fast track. Under the guise of “saving the planet,” these players, who are all interconnected in a variety of ways, are transforming our climate into something more sinister –– a scam of epic proportions.

Due to its magnitude and the potential dire consequences to our economy, our freedoms, and the voices of the honorable environmentalists –– this "Climate Scam" will be confronted in three parts.

TROXLER AND BROWN PREDICTIONS OF GREEN CORRUPTION CONFIRMED

This year, Lee Troxler and Floyd Brown in their newly released hit book, Killing Wealth, Freeing Wealth How to Save America's Economy and Your Own, predicted that the veteran Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB) (multi-millionaire Al Gore and billionaire John Doerr are both partners) would get government contracts from the Obama administration unfairly.

In developing this story, which took months of research, backed up with extensive resources, we learned through an anonymous source that there are multiple federal investigations from different agencies and senators underway against the Department of Energy (DOE), in particular, the Loan Guarantee Program (LGP) and possibly others. Our source, who is close to the some of the ongoing investigations, "guarantees there was corruption and bad ethics involved" and that at this time "a number of the investigations are getting stonewalled." Our findings, along with this recent inside information, confirms Troxler and Browns' predictions of corruption on the "green front." As we learn more, we will share the details.

At this time we do know that the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) has been in the process of reviewing –– in response to Congress' mandate –– the DOE's execution of the Loan Guarantee Program (LGP), which was established as part of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 and set up for innovative energy projects. About two weeks ago (July 12, 2010), the GAO released their findings and recommendations, noting that the "LGP scope has expanded both in the types of projects it can support and in the amount of loan guarantee authority available. DOE currently has loan guarantee authority estimated at about $77 billion and is seeking additional authority."

At issue, the DOE's lack of "comprehensive performance goals," particularly in relation to the DOE's "broad policy goal of helping to mitigate climate change and create jobs." The GAO concludes, "Without comprehensive performance goals, DOE lacks the foundation to assess the program's progress and, more specifically, to determine whether the projects selected for loan guarantees help achieve the desired results."

Predictably, the GAO also found that the "DOE's implementation of the LGP has treated applicants inconsistently, favoring some and disadvantaging others, as well as the fact that the "DOE lacks systematic mechanisms for LGP applicants to administratively appeal its decisions or to provide feedback to DOE on its process for issuing loan guarantees."

OBAMA'S GREEN STIMULUS

In February 2009 Congress passed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), the $862 billion stimulus package, of which $86 billion was earmarked for "green"; the Apollo Alliance –– a left-wing organization who exerts a powerful influence on the views and policies of the Obama administration –– was also involved in drafting it. More on Apollo later, but Kleiner Perkins are like ants at a picnic; they’re everywhere that’s green, including on the Apollo board, where they have placed one of their partners, Ellen Pao. Furthermore, Obama was a candidate that both Gore and Doerr had strenuously campaigned for, including financial donations, and early on, Doerr had his hand in shaping ARRA, "urging" Obama's transition team and leaders in Congress "to use the new economic stimulus package to modernize the electric grid and offer new incentives to help clean energy startups get off the ground." Doerr also sits on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB), who President Obama appointed as one of the "chosen" back in January 2009.

In following the ARRA, meant to stimulate the economy and create jobs, it is clear that the Obama administration is circuitously funneling government contracts to their favored companies –– "stimulating" the "green" pockets of Kleiner Perkins. This screams corruption and it’s time to call in a special prosecutor!

FOLLOW THE "GREEN" MONEY: KPCB GREENTECH PORTFOLIO

Since last summer when the Department of Energy (DOE) started handing out the $86 billion "green stimulus" money, Gore and Doerr’s “green companies” have been cashing in big time –– billions of taxpayer dollars! Keep in mind, this doesn’t account for funds not yet allocated, or hidden contracts, nor the mass amount of money KPCB and others in the Climate Scam will generate if the U.S. climate legislation becomes law –– "Obama Climate," more specifically cap-and-trade, which will be covered in more detail later.

So far over fifty percent of the companies listed on the Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers Greentech Portfolio, of which KPCB partners are positioned on the board of many, have –– directly and indirectly –– received money from the "Obama Green Stimulus" package as well as through other government programs approved by the Obama administration.

AL GORE’S FISKER AUTOMOTIVE $529 MILLION DOE LOAN IGNITES RED FLAGS

One of the most blatant examples of government favoritism, catching headlines in the Wall Street Journal back in September 2009 (Gore-Backed Car Firm Gets Large U.S. Loan) was the $529 million dollar government loan guarantee (which was cinched in May 2010) that Fisker Automotive received to build its high end, hybrid sports coupe, Fisker Karma, to be manufactured in Finland and sold for $89,000. Fisker Automotive was a 2008 investment for Kleiner Perkins and it was confirmed that Gore has already purchased his Karma.

In June 2009 the DOE announced three other large government loans that included $5.9 billion to Ford Motor Company, $1.6 billion to Nissan Motors, and $465 million to Tesla Motors. Although the four loans came out of the DOE's $25-billion Advanced Technologies Vehicle Manufacturing (ATVM) Loan Program, it was approved by the Obama administration and it did ignite some red flags.

As reported by the Wall Street Journal, "the awards to Fisker and Tesla prompted criticism from groups that question why vehicles aimed at the wealthiest customers are getting loans subsidized by taxpayers" and "concern from companies that had their bids for loans rejected." Included in the reaction was Leslie Paige, a spokeswoman for Citizens Against Government Waste. "This is not for average Americans. It's status symbol thing," Ms. Paige added. More gripping is the fact that this favoritism didn’t sit well with some of the firms that were turned down for loans from the DOE –– stating "they did not get much feedback from the department about their applications" and "were unable to get a full explanation as to why their loan request was turned down."

THE VINOD KHOLSA CONNCECTION

The CEO of EcoMotors John Colettie, whose $20 million ATVM loan from the DOE was denied, didn’t have an “issue” with the winners. Probably because EcoMotors' lead investor is Vinod Khosla, an affiliated partner of Kleiner Perkins, whose firm Khosla Ventures has also invested in some of the same companies as Kleiner Perkins, which have received government funding including Obama Green Stimulus cash. Those companies include; AltaRock Energy Inc., $25 million grant from the stimulus; Amyris Biotechnologies, $25 million grant from the stimulus; and Mascoma Corporation has received state and federal grants from the DOE since 2006, totaling over $170 million and as recent as 2008, received another $49.5 million in funding from the DOE and the state of Michigan.

SILVER SPRING NETWORKS SCORES OVER $700 MILLION IN SMART-GRID GREEN STIMULUS FUNDS –– RIGGING THE BIDDING PROCESS?

One of the most contentious of Obama Green Stimulus money awards comes out of the ashes of the $4 billion smart-grid grants, with some of the nation’s largest providers of electricity meters “crying foul” over the smart-grid standards in the stimulus bill, according to a report by USA TODAY in February 2009. Additionally, they said that the economic stimulus bill "could put them out of business and wreak havoc in the new market for smart-grid technology by favoring certain computer network standards.”

Itron, Landis+Gyr, Elster and Aclara even wrote a letter to U.S. Senators to voice their concerns regarding the “protocols and standards” that were placed into the House version of the legislation for all smart-grid projects, which states that "utilities receiving funding must use Internet-based or other open protocols and standards if available and appropriate." Ed Gray, vice president of regulatory affairs for smart-meter provider Elster, said "the bill gives a leg up to Silver Spring at the expense of other providers."

Interestingly, in March 2009, a month after the stimulus bill had already passed, Jeff St. John from GreenTechMedia.com, quoted a statement made by Stuart Bush, an alternative energy analyst for RBC Capital Markets, "both Trilliant and Silver Spring (both smart-grid communications companies) could benefit from the way the stimulus plan was structured to require open standards." Bush also added, "Clearly the West Coast VC guys had a lot of lobby pull getting that in there."

Clearly the "West Coast VC guys" –– Kleiner Perkins (Gore and Doerr), have more than "lobby pull." In fact, Silver Spring Networks, as revealed in Troxler and Browns book, is one of Kleiner Perkins shining “green” companies –– their 2008, $75-million investment has scored over $700 million! Since August of 2009 when the DOE started dishing out the $4-billion from the Smart Grid Investment Grant Program (part of the stimulus plan) –– awarded to selected utility companies for particular smart-grid projects –– close to sixty percent of Silver Spring “customers” were winners.

• American Electric Power (AEP) received $75 million for AEP Ohio gridSMARTSM Demonstration Project, announces earth2tech.com in August 2009. It should be noted here that Richard Sandor is on the AEP board. Sandor, Chairman and founder of the Chicago Climate Exchange, who is connected to President Obama and Al Gore, is another key "player" in this Climate Scan, which will be exposed later.
• Bluebonnet Electric Cooperative got $18.8 million for a general smart- grid build out in Texas as reported in August 2009 by earth2tech.com. Additionally, in November 2009 Austin’s Pecan Street Project won $10.4 million in federal stimulus money to create a smart-grid demonstration project, which includes Bluebonnet as part or their Technology Review and Advisory Committee.
• In October 2009 Florida Power & Electric was awarded $200 million for Energy Smart Florida –– posted by earth2tech.com.
• In April 2010 Pepco Holdings Inc. signed contracts for three ARRA grants totaling $168.1 million to advance smart-grid projects, reported by the Washington Business Journal. Additionally in April 2010, Secretary of Energy Steven Chu announced $100 million from the stimulus will go for Smart Grid Workforce Training and Development, of which Florida Power & Light got $5 million and Pepco got just over $4.3 million.
• In October 2009, "the U.S. Department of Energy announced that Modesto Irrigation District (MID) was one of only six California utilities selected to receive a $1.5 million federal stimulus grant to support MID’s efforts to install smart control equipment throughout its electric infrastructure" –– published in an Oracle Press Release.
• Oklahoma Gas and Electric Co. received a $130 million stimulus grant for a 771,000 smart meter deployment, as reported in October 2009 by GreenTechGrid.com.
• Sacramento Municipal Utility District got a $127.5 million stimulus grant for a comprehensive regional smart-grid system, announced in October 2009 by GreenTechGrid.com.
• According to an August 2009 article by earth2tech.com, Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) –– another Silver Spring customer –– "applied for $42.5 million government grant for home area networks in conjunction with the city of San Jose and Stanford University," yet it is unclear whether or not they received it. However, in May 2010, the DOE awarded PG&E a $25 million stimulus grant to develop compressed air storage for electricity" –– writes the San Francisco Business Times.

But the "government bucks" don’t stop at Silver Spring Networks...

Ausra Inc.

Ausra Inc. –– a KPCB investment that "develops and deploys utility-scale solar technologies," was acquired by AREVA Inc. in March 2010. Then in July 2010 "AREVA accepted the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) offer of a conditional commitment to issue a $2 billion loan guarantee to support construction of the Eagle Rock Enrichment Facility, AREVA’s $3 billion state-of-the-art gas centrifuge enrichment plant in Bonneville County, Idaho."

Bloom Energy

Bloom Energy –– Kleiner Perkins is listed as a primary investor and John Doerr as a board member –– in February 2010 launched its Bloom Box. The real name is the “Bloom Energy Server" and is marketed as "a stand-alone electric generator that requires no connection to any centralized power generating plant and no coal-based or oil-based fuel to operate it" (translation: cheap, clean energy flows almost magically from a refrigerator-sized box). The Bloom Box debuted in a "big scoop" segment on 60 Minutes on February 21, 2010, followed with a star-studded (Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Colin Powell) Bloom Energy Press Conference attended and filmed by TheAutoChannel.com. Marc J. Rauch Executive Vice President/Co-Publisher of The Auto Channel noted "our contact [at the National Renewable Energy Labs (NREL) in Colorado] had known of the Bloom technology and revealed that the government had actually provided a $5 million grant to the company during its development stage. There are also rumors (and news) of "an enormous government contract to order the Bloom Box" and Bloom Energy "is due for a verdict on their DOE stimulus funds shortly," as reported by GreenTechMedia.com, February 19, 2010.

Harvest Power Inc.

Harvest Power Inc., backed by Kleiner Perkins, is basically a company that "turns trash into fertilizer and fuel," and according to a June 2009 article by GreenEnergyNews.com and a City of San Jose Press Release, "GreenWaste Recovery would partner with Harvest Power Inc. on a project (if approved by the city council) known as the Zanker Road Biogas facility." Mayor Chuck Reed said in a statement, "This project not only demonstrates San Jose's leadership in the production of renewable energy but will help us meet the economic development, zero waste and energy goals of our city's Green Vision."

Evidently, the Green Vision is raking in big bucks from the Obama Green Stimulus, as reflected in their 2009 Annual Report –– "In 2009 over $50 million in federal and state grant money, including federal stimulus dollars were allocated or awarded towards projects that will advance Green Vision goals." Additionally, "local companies received over $80 million in federal tax credits that will spur expansions and hiring in sectors such as renewable energy," and as of May 2010, the City of San Jose –– Capitol of Silicon Valley –– "is estimated to receive nearly $108 million in Recovery Act funds."

MiaSolé

MiaSolé Thin-film Solar, part of the KPCB Greentech Portfolio, with "more than 500 applications that were submitted for the tax credits," in January 2010 MiaSole "received two Advanced Energy Manufacturing tax credits totaling $101.8 million from the Obama administration for the manufacture of low-cost thin-film cells and modules."

RecycleBank

RecycleBank –– another Kleiner Perkins green investment –– works with municipalities and haulers to measure and reward residents for recycling. As reported by RecycleBank, "in April 2009 $2.8 billion were allocated to cities with 14 uses that include recycle projects." It turns out that Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Houston, Texas; and Hartford, Connecticut were the first cities to "take advantage of stimulus funds and work with RecycleBank to improve their waste diversion rates." Also, in August 2009, Chicago became the first Illinois city to partner with RecycleBank, then there are the cities in between, and recently in February 2010, Los Angeles became the largest city to partner with RecycleBank.


While it is obvious that the folks at Kleiner Perkins have strategically positioned their investments to profit from “green,” including the massive influx of taxpayer money, placing them ahead of the competition –– still others need government mandates and regulations to really make them fly. One company in particular is Hara Software, "a company that sells software to help businesses measure and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions," where three KPCB partners sit on the Hara board. In a June 2009 article by Reuters –– Gore-Backed Hara Sees Profit From Low-carbon Economy –– Hara Chief Executive Amit Chatterjee, who in July 2009 was part of a group of "innovative energy leaders" that "advised Obama," stated that [cap-and-trade] "will force companies to act, as opposed to seeing the business benefit of acting." "The debate alone of 'cap and trade' is a driver for our product," Chatterjee added.


In closing...
Considering the magnitude of this Climate Scam –– its scope; cost and paybacks; "players" and agendas –– these findings may only scratch the surface. This Climate Scam goes beyond the billions of taxpayer dollars that Gore and Doerr, via Kleiner Perkins, have already unfairly snagged from the Obama Green Stimulus and huge DOE grants and loans. More disturbing is the fact that these "players" –– and others that will be exposed in Green Corruption parts two and three –– have direct ties to the Obama White House, strong influence over government policy, and are connected to the rest of those caught up in this scam, including the hard-core-left-wing radicals.

Moreover, most of "the players" have helped create, shape, facilitate, lobby, testify, sell, and even if the planet blows up, will get their cap-and-trade, which despite reports that it's dead in the Senate, will soon to be on the Obama agenda — the real pot of gold at the end of the climate rainbow.

First published at Blogcritics Magazine in politics, by Christine Lakatos –– Concerned Citizen: The Right Perspective Blog. Check out Lee Troxler and Floyd Brown's book, Killing Wealth, Freeing Wealth: How to Save America's Economy and Your Own